As the second half wore on during Australia's second match of the November international window, Tony Popovic's side seemed to be cruising to a vital three points away from home in their third-round World Cup qualifier. Kusini Yengi had opened the scoring against Bahrain 38 seconds into proceedings, and the Socceroos threatened to make it two or three as the final 15 minutes approached. But then, disaster struck, and Yengi snatched a late equaliser to pull his country out of a hole they should never have been in to begin with.
The Socceroos finished their November international window with two points from a possible six. (Image: Aleksandar Jason/Subway Socceroos)
You would have to rewind to the 2010 World Cup qualifying cycle to find the last time the Socceroos comfortably secured their passage to world football's biggest stage. During that cycle, Australia booked their ticket to South Africa before the final matchday, a feat the current Socceroos could have edged closer to replicating over the past week. But they didn't. They came away with two results that, although put Tony Popovic's side a point clear in second in their qualification group, equated to a frustrating two points from a possible six. The overriding and familiar feeling is that the Socceroos have again blown missed opportunities to aid a much more straightforward path to World Cup qualification.
In the past, the failure to step up and take advantage of such opportunities could have been blamed on the coaching or other external factors. However, the players' inability to execute in crucial moments and put both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to the sword is on them, and they must take ownership.
Drawing 0-0 with the Saudis, back under the tutelage of the astute Hervé Renard, is not a bad result by any means. But given how the game in Melbourne played out, with Australia undoubtedly the better side, and the Green Falcons going on to lose away to Indonesia, it was the first missed opportunity of this window. Had any one of Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Harry Souttar, Mitch Duke, or Brandon Borrello taken the promising chance they had, the Socceroos would have gone into the clash in Riffa with some confidence in front of goal and with pressure eased on the return leg against Saudi Arabia next year.
It was the first instance where the inability to take chances spoiled what could have been a monumental win in the big picture. We'll revisit this specific issue later.
In saying that, many would have been pleased with a point had it been offered to them pre-game. Similarly to last time out against China and Japan, four points would have been the likely target for this window: take a point, if needed, against Saudi Arabia and then beat Bahrain. Much of this analysis will focus on the Bahrain game, as it was the second, much more inexcusable missed opportunity of the past week.
Contrary to what is more often than not perpetuated in online discourse, Australia should never be expected to dispose of a side like Bahrain comfortably. A reminder that in the 2010 cycle mentioned above, the Socceroos required a stoppage-time winner from Mark Bresciano to beat Bahrain away from home in November 2008. It would always be a challenging game, particularly when this Roos side had already succumbed to a defeat to Dragan Talajić's plucky outfit on the Gold Coast.
But under a new Head Coach this time around, Popovic, the feeling was different, particularly after that promising performance against Saudi Arabia that was just lacking a finishing touch. Well, Bahrain defender Sayed Baqer threw Talajić's tried-and-tested game plan out the window less than a minute in and helped the Socceroos find a finishing touch they lacked the game before by handing Kusini Yengi the opener.
It's an early goal. Brilliant. Things should be cruisy from here, most Socceroos fans would have thought. And in fairness, in terms of control of the game, it was cruisy for Australia; maybe too cruisy.
In the immediate aftermath of the fortuitous opener, Australia decided to sit back as if to say to Bahrain, 'Go on, let's see what you can do with the ball for a change.' Fair enough. And the Bahrainians, to their credit, tried to press and play, but with little success due to the combination of a stubborn Roos rearguard and a lack of quality. As the first half played out, the Socceroos were threatening to make it two, with multiple half-chances manufactured by their lynchpin Riley McGree and one glorious opportunity for Yengi to double his tally, only to be thwarted by goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla. Yengi capitalised on his first moment, but that was another one he could have buried.
Australia settled for their 1-0 lead at half-time. Surely Bahrain would come out in the second half with a bigger punch, right? No, they did not. Outside of Cameron Burgess making a crucial block from close range in the 64th minute, the Socceroos resumed control after the break, and here, the first 30 minutes, is really where a victory was butchered, not in the freak show two minutes that saw Bahrain take the lead.
Yengi misses another good chance from another opportunity set up by McGree, albeit one that would have been a quality finish had his chested effort snuck into the top left corner and not struck the woodwork. Not two minutes later, Aziz Behich does a great job of forcing a Bahraini turnover on the byline in the penalty area before cutting the ball back for Yengi, who has to get a shot on target at least. But the Portsmouth forward hesitates and is dispossessed.
Hesitation in and around the box has been a theme of the Socceroos in the final third for a while and was particularly prevalent in this game. Even Irvine and McGree, two of Australia's better performers on the night, had instances of hesitation just outside the penalty area in decent shooting positions. It was as if they second-guessed themselves, not being confident to shoot.
With someone like Duke coming under such heavy, unnecessary criticism every time he wears the shirt, are other players in the squad not shooting out of fear of the criticism they could cop for a missed chance? Surely that could not be the case for Irvine and McGree, two players in good form at club level, and whose confidence surely would be sky high?
Despite being one of Australia's best players against Bahrain, with three key passes and two big chances created, Riley McGree did not register a shot in Riffa. (Image: Aleksandar Jason/Subway Socceroos)
This piece is not designed to criticise or 'call out' either of these players or Yengi for missed chances, but it is obvious that this issue goes beyond coaching, and that must be addressed. Contrary to popular, incomprehensible belief, these two games had very little to do with coaching.
Being picky, you might say taking off someone like Craig Goodwin, arguably Australia's most reliable source for goals, with the Bahrain game still in the balance was a mistake. But Popovic has consistently alluded to the fact that much of his selections and substitutions revolve around players' ability to maximise their physical output on the pitch, and perhaps the winger was unable to run out a full game. Hrustic also replaced him; it was a like-for-like change, and the attacking midfielder should have scored moments before Yengi's late equaliser.
Crucially, as yours truly has mentioned many times on the Front Page Football Podcast, a coach can not put the ball in the back of the net for their players. What they can do, and what Popovic undoubtedly did over these two matches, is set up a game plan that ensures the players were put in the position to score goals in the first place. We could not say that about every game in the closing stages of the Graham Arnold era; the worst example of this was the home loss to Bahrain.
Per FootyStats, the Socceroos had an Expected Goals (xG) metric of 1.29 against Saudi Arabia, followed by 1.12 against Bahrain. The Saudi figure backs up the claim that a goal was warranted, one that would have secured three points. Admittedly, Australia should be able to create more than roughly one expected goal against an opponent like Bahrain. However, the issue in this game was the timeliness of the missed chances.
Take the opportunity mentioned above where Yengi hesitated on the Behich cutback. Don't hesitate, shoot, and find the net, and we are talking about a 2-0 or 3-0 victory, with the Socceroos sitting pretty with one foot on the plane to 2026. That is how important those moments are.
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Although it is difficult not to do so, we don't always need to find a scapegoat whenever the Socceroos have a lacklustre result. But on this occasion, it is fair to state that the players (as it is a collective issue, not one individual, again contrary to popular, incomprehensible belief) should own their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal and their seeming lack of understanding that the next chance does not always come.
There seemed to be an air of complacency in that second half, as if it was acceptable to miss one chance, as the next would come due to Australia's overall control. The team seemed to be lulled into a false sense of security. As we have learned over this qualifying campaign, the Socceroos do not create in abundance, and it is doubtful they will do so soon. Being clinical is a requirement, not a choice.
But Australia was not against Bahrain, and it meant they were always susceptible to the two goals they conceded, regardless of the bizarre nature in which they came. Even the nature of how those two goals came can be blamed on a lack of focus, which may have stemmed from some complacency.
Did Burgess momentarily take his eye off the ball, leading to his miscontrol that led to Mahdi Abduljabbar's incredible finish? Was Hayden Matthews ready to defend the cross that he flicked onto the post and eventually into Abduljabbar's path for his brace? The answers to those questions are not as relevant, as both situations would have been far less impactful had the earlier chances been taken.
In the end, Australia walked away with a point seen as a positive in the broader context of what happened elsewhere in the group. Yes, it is good that the Socceroos are still in control of their destiny, but based on the evidence in this window, can we have confidence in the players executing in the final third to pick up maximum points in March? Two wasteful performances like we've just witnessed, and Australia could be staring down the barrel of elimination from qualifying altogether.
So, what's the solution? Different personnel? Young Mohamed Toure was floated as a bolter for the squad pre-camp and has been in superb form at club level with Randers in Denmark, and could offer a solution as a reliable long-term option to lead the line. But the key word there is "long-term." It's not to say Toure could not have impacted this window, but if the Socceroos are in a position, echoed by fans, that they need to turn to a 20-year-old, who although talented, is unproven at this level and would be chucked into two high-pressure games, there is a much bigger problem at play. Why are there no reliable goal-scoring strikers in the squad, and what is being done to start producing them?
Many have questioned Football Australia's decision to hire Popovic ever since the 51-year-old was announced as the national team's new Head Coach. But perhaps the wrong questions are being asked. What should be put forward, and is a topic Chief Football Officer Ernie Merrick could surely provide some insights into, is whether there is a specific strategy within the youth development plans to address goal-scoring, a severe issue plaguing not just the Socceroos but even the Olyroos during their failure to qualify for the Olympics earlier this year.
If there is a plan in place, we will not see the fruits of it for a while; that is true. Maybe the likes of Thomas Waddingham and Luka Jovanovic will be elite goal-scorers in the next cycle, and we will be sitting here applauding FA for helping mould such players by exposing them to competitive tournament football at a national youth team level.
But the Socceroos cannot wait until the next cycle to find a regular source of goals. They need them now. Perhaps Yengi's double will provide him a boost to claim the starting number nine role for years to come. Only time will give us a clearer picture.
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